Bait and Switch Credits: Difference between revisions

Compare [[Fake-Out Opening]] and [[Action-Hogging Opening]]. For when a character prominently featured in the credits of an early episode suffers a shockingly rapid demise, see [[Dead Star Walking]].

 

 

== Anime ==

* The opening sequence for ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' shows Utena and Anthy in dark blue and red plate armor, respectively, riding flying horses in an implied battle against an unseen enemy. Needless to say, we never see anything like this in the series.

** This was a result of changes to the author's original storyline rather than deliberate deception, not that someone watching the finished product has any way to tell the difference. Director Ikuhara later joked it was a scene he had thought up during his work on ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' and that it wouldn't make any sense ''there'' either.

* ''[[Bleach]]'' is rife with these, showing characters in different costumes and situations than you would ever expect. The worst offender was the second opening, which promised many really cool battles in the Soul Society arc that never happened.

** The eighth opening shows filler captain Amagai fighting his third seat, Kifune after the latter's [[Face Heel Turn]]. It's misleading because Izuru ends up fighting Kifune and also because {{spoiler|Amagai is the real villain and was manipulating Kifune}}.

* Given the amount of stuff that has actually come to pass from it, the opening for ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]] No Yuuutsu'' is probably an exception. What were originally simply random, half-second images took on new meaning the further we got through the story; furthermore, a few clips are direct from the Light Novels or interpretations of what happens on drama CDs. Maybe the entire thing is a [[Spoiler Opening]]...

* ''[[Neko Kawaigari]]'' is probably the ultimate example of this trope. It promises a light-hearted fun atmosphere involving [[Catgirl|catgirls]], and while it delivers... it completely hides the home stretch of the story, which is extremely dark and depressing.

* Perhaps not a bait and switch as such, but the opening credits of ''[[Wolfs Rain|Wolf's Rain]]'' place the characters in a modern (Japanese?) city that doesn't appear in the series {{spoiler|Until the end of Episode 30, after the world has been destroyed and reborn}}. Furthermore, in the credits show actual rainfall -- {{spoiler|something that also doesn't happen until Episode 30, where it allows the lunar flowers to germinate and regenerate life on Earth.}}.

* ''[[Trinity Blood]]'': The ending credits hint at {{spoiler|a romance between Abel and Esther, which never happens}}. Also, the opening credits seem to give the Crusnik way more screen time than he gets in most episodes.

* Both openings to ''[[Akahori Gedou Hour Rabuge]]'', fitting to the [[Widget Series]] nature of the program, are really only true in the protagonists' minds. Kaoruko and Aimi never destroy anything that poses an actual threat to the city, and the Gedou Otome Tai never summon an army of demons to wreak havoc on the city.

** [[Dragon Ball Kai]] (the new director's cut of Z) also has a bait and switch. The end credits feature Launch, a character who was prominent in Dragon Ball but who has barely any appearances in Z...and the one sequence she ''does'' appear in was cut out of Kai.

* The first opening of ''[[Code Geass]]'' shows Lelouch riding a white horse, something that never happens in the show. The show's creators have said that the scene is metaphorical, but what exactly it means they didn't say. The first opening for the second season has a similar scene, which differs in that it ends with Lelouch glaring at what appears to be a coastal military base -- again, something that has yet to happen.

* The opening of ''[[Kannagi]]'' depicts Nagi [[Dancing Theme|dancing on stage]] as an [[Idol Singer]]. While somewhat thematically appropriate -- she does need [[Gods Need Prayer Badly|to be loved by the people]] -- she is not actually a singer nor is the supporting cast her managers, makeup artists, directors, etc.

** [[Stealth Pun|It's also a pun.]] Kannagi is a wooden IDOL come to life, the opening portrays her as a different kind of idol.

* The opening of ''[[Tentai Senshi Sunred (Manga)|Tentai Senshi Sunred]]'' depicts Sunred with all the typical [[Tokusatsu]] hero tropes. A [[Transformation Sequence]], stylized weapons, a bike and a [[Finishing Move]]. None of these have appeared outside the credits.

* Virtually every opening for ''[[Naruto]]'' features activities of characters who really aren't doing anything at the time.

*** The Elder Toad shown alongside the villains.

*** {{spoiler|The revived Akatsuki zombies}} sliding into each other while their containers comedically topple in the background

* The first seven episodes of ''[[Penguin Musume Heart]]'' slowly change before stabilizing into something that makes the show look like some sort of combination of ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena|Utena]]'' and ''[[Captain Harlock]]''.

* The OP for the first season of ''[[Hidamari Sketch]]'' shows Yuno walking in on Sae on top of Hiro in a suggestive manner, but the scene where it comes from (sadly, a [[Not What It Looks Like]] moment) isn't shown until the second season.

* Subverted in ''[[Gate Keepers]]''. The OP depicts [[Meganekko|Megumi Kurogane]] apparently firing an [[Kamehame Hadoken|energy blast]] from her hand. This is supposed to be impossible in-universe, as her power is to [[Barrier Warrior|create walls]]... then you notice that Megumi ''was'' using her barriers - to ''block'' said blast.

* Looking at the OP for ''[[Full Metal Panic]]? Fumoffu'' you'd think that it'd be a cute, romantic high school [[Shoujo]] in the vein of ''[[Kare Kano]]'' or ''[[Marmalade Boy]].'' If you hadn't first watched season one, you might even think that it ''was'' one ...for about thirty seconds. At that point, the guy that you've pinned as the [[The Stoic|stoic]], romantic male lead nonchalantly [[Stuff Blowing Up|blows up the locker room]] with plastic explosive.

** The opening credits show ''a lot'' of characters from the original manga that do not appear in the OVA. This includes Banpei the robot, Yoko the ghost, etc.

** They also show [[Brainwashed and Crazy|Demon Belldandy]] spreading dark wings over the city, while her friends watch below. That never happens. Instead, Belldandy's pureness turns the demon into an angel within minutes.

* ''[[Keroro Gunso]]'' uses this in episode 150. After spending the entire episode getting ready to leave (He'd been promoted) Giroro gives a heartfelt (for him) goodbye at the train station. Cue a special ending sequence, complete with sad music and a "Goodbye Giroro" card...only for Giroro to literally shoot through them and grab Keroro by the neck. That promotion letter? Turns out it was a month old. Cue the regular ending sequence.

* ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Anime)|Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]''. The opening? Standard cute [[Magical Girl]] song, images (including [[Shout Out|references]] to Sailor Moon, CCS, and even Pretty Cure), the works. The problem? [[Gen Urobuchi]] is writing -- The series is a rather savage deconstruction. The monsters aren't harmless, people can (and do) die, the aspects of a bunch of young girls fighting horrific [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]] are fully explored... and oh yeah, the [[Cute Mascot]] appears to be [[Faust|Faustian]]. Notably, the first two episodes didn't have an ending sequence, episode 3 was a [[Wham Episode]] and is officially [[Nightmare Fuel]] from the climax on, culminating in the main character floating ''in the mask of Mephistopheles'' during the ending sequence (which is not remotely a standard [[Magical Girl]] song).

* ''[[Kamichama Karin]]'' sports a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7YUhKAZp9s rather dark-looking opening sequence] that, combined with the [[Non Indicative First Episode|sombre first ep]], convinced some fans that the series was going to be a darker-and-edgier [[Magical Girl]]-slash-[[Moe|Moe Series]], ala Nanoha. [[Affectionate Parody|So wrong.]] {{spoiler|On the other hand, once the [[Cerebus Syndrome]] kicks in, the opening doesn't look quite as much out of place.}}

* ''[[Yu Gi Oh 5 D's]]'' does this with openings 2 and 5. In the second version of opening 2, we see Jack facing off against {{spoiler|Dark Carly}} in a ground duel, whilst the episode they duel in is a Riding Duel. Opening 5 does this at the very end by showing Yusei using Junk Warrior to attack Z-ONE. {{spoiler|Junk Warrior is never used in that duel, but he pops up in 154 to deal the finishing blow to Jack}}

* The third ''[[Slayers]]'' opening (''Slayers TRY'') has a humorous shot of Lina's sister, Luna, with a sign pointing at her reading, "sorry, opening only!" As for the song itself, it is less energetic and more mellow than the previous two openings, citing for a darker story, but while the overarching plot darkens later on, the overall tone of the show is as comedic as it had always been, creating some poorly timed [[Mood Whiplash]] during the comedic filler episodes. Also, in that opening, [[Holier Than Thou|Filia]] is portrayed as some demure [[Mysterious Waif|prophetic waif]]/DistressedDamsel, but in the show proper, she's an obnoxious, prissy, and loud (and very dead-on) variant of [[Holier Than Thou]].

** Episode 39 took this still further by opening with the Thames TV ident<ref> Well known to international viewers of such programmes as ''[[Danger Mouse (Animation)|Danger Mouse]]'' and ''[[Count Duckula (Animation)|Count Duckula]]''</ref> and a fake continuity link delivered by actual Thames continuity presenter David Hamilton, perhaps fooling early viewers into thinking their television was tuned to the wrong station until Hamilton announced, "But right now, here's a rotten old BBC programme!"

** One step further in the program for ''Spamalot.'' The main section of the play booklet describes a Finnish play that sounds like torture to the audience. Among the notes in the playbook are "There will be three intermissions -- one every two-and-a-half hours" and warnings not to speak Swedish in the theater. After this five-page section comes the real opening.

* ''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]'' credits open with a sweeping view of the English countryside and singing of the 23rd Psalm, but end with a humorous scene poking fun at village life. However, when a major character died, this montage was played straight.

* The opening of the recent Spike TV reality show ''Murder'' shows car chases, the host firing weapons, ''CSI''-style graphics, and contestants observing what appear to be car explosions. The show is actually about contestants investigating realistic crime-scenes, and episodes mostly consist of people discussing the case in a conference room.

* ''[[Warriors Orochi]] 2'' treats us with the opening consisting of Cao Pi, Date Masamune, Saika Magoichi and Tachibana Ginchiyo kicking the ass of Orochi army. Come to the game, however, you find out that Masamune still remains with Orochi, not even thinking about joining the heroes.

** Bait and Switch Credits seem to be a staple of the ''Warriors'' series in general, as you never quite get to play out the scenarios depicted in the opening sequences. (At least the [[Warriors Orochi]] opening was more of a [[How We Got Here]] prologue.)